Building Communities - Homes for the Dalits

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m Michelle Hua. I was a JET ALT at Kaizu Meisei High School from 2006 to 2008. I’m from Canada.

What was the general purpose of the recent volunteer trip to India?

Our main purpose was to help the Dalits of Kothasatram/Indiranagar village to build houses. Dalits were formerly known as the untouchables of India. Historically they are at the bottom of India’s caste system. Nowadays discrimination against Dalits is banned by the Indian constitution. However, Dalits are still being discriminated against across the country. The Association of Relief Volunteers, an association aimed at empowering the Dalits (established by

Ravi, the amazing man who coordinated our work camp and took great care of us. He is an empowered Dalit himself. ) had been working with the Dalits in this village and assessed that the greatest needs of these people is housing. At the end of 2006, Longitude, a Providence-based NGO collaborated with ARV, started the program “Building Communities”, and dispatched the first group of volunteers.This first group included past and present Gifu JETs: Simon, James, Andrew, Ed, and Ryan, who broke the ground and laid foundation for 45 houses in the village. This time we were the 6th group of volunteers and we wanted to finish the houses during our volunteer expedition.

How many people went? What kinds of people?

There were 22 of us. Almost all of us are JETs, except Thessaly who’s an old friend of our team leader Emily, and Laura, friends of Gifu JETs. Out of the 20 JETs, 11 of us are from Gifu.

Where did you go in India? How did you get there?

Throughout the work camp, we stayed in a small city called Kavari, which is situated in the South Eastern State of Andrha Pradesh. Everyday we commuted back and forth between our hostel and the village of Kothasatram /Indiranagar on a 30 minute bumpy bus ride.

How was life on the work camp?

The weather was brutal when we were there in the heat of the summer. It was 35-40 degrees Celsius everyday. We adapted poorly to Indian summer and bacteria. During the work camp, we dropped like flies due to heat, exhaustion, and digestive issues. We worked from 9-12 in the morning, took long lunch breaks to avoid the hottest hours, and then worked another 2-3 hours in the afternoon.

Did you feel like you accomplished your goals for this trip?

Although we tried hard, truth is that there was only so much we could accomplish within 9 days (2 of which we stayed behind in the hostel because too many people got sick). Only one house was completely finished while we were there. Therefore we didn’t quite accomplish our goal. However, with our successful fundraising endeavor and the generosity of amazing friends and family, the money we raised was enough for the construction of all 45 houses! It allows the construction to be continued by the villagers and masons even after our work camp.

What were your feelings after completing the trip?

On the last day of our work camp, we had a closing ceremony and dedicated our first completed house to the family that was going to move into the house. The family consists of the father, the mother and a 25(?) year-old son who was going to get married soon. When Ravi interviewed the family about how they felt about their new house, they said that they had never dreamed of such a possibility. They didn't know it was thinkable for them to have a house like this. They had only lived in sub-standard housing before, such as mud huts with roofs covered with palm leaves. The woman felt so touched she began crying. As soon as I saw her crying, I couldn't hold back my emotions anymore and I also shed tears of joy. I wish you could have been there to see what I saw: the overwhelming joy and appreciation of the family! These people are such passionate, positive and loving people. Contrary to what they are still known as to the majority of Indian population, they are one of the most touchable people we've met. They liked to touch us, hold us, dance with us, and we liked to touch, hold and dance with them too. They are just like any other human beings: they possess the same potentials and are limited by the same flaws.

By helping them to regain the opportunities that have been stripped away from them through discrimination, who knows what'll become of them? Housing is only one priority among the many needs of the community. For example, there is the employment livelihood of the community, which is the second greatest need assessed by the villagers and the Association of Relief Volunteers. There's still a long way to go before this village becomes a vibrant and sustainable one. The discrimination Dalits face is almost impossible to eradicate from India's society, yet by improving the life of one Dalit, there is more confidence, respect and hope gained by one human being. There is so much pain and despair in this world, and yet there is so much love and hope. Through this experience, I witnesses that love is able to reach people by acts of kindness manifested in many ways.